The sales for open-ended building game Minecraft continue to climb. Today both the Xbox 360 version and the original PC/Mac edition both hit impressive new milestones.

This morning, designer Markus "Notch" Persson announced that the original version of Minecraft has now sold 13 million copies. The game's been available on that platform since May 2009. Gamers were able to purchase the alpha and beta versions for a discount and offer feedback on the development. Minecraft officially launched on that platform in November 2011.

Microsoft's Major Nelson followed up on Notch's announcement shortly afterward by revealing that another 10 million were sold on Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 Edition, which sports split-screen and Xbox Live multiplayer, was developed by 4J Studios and released on May 9th, 2012. The buzz from the original PC version and subsequent mobile ports helped the 360 version sell one million copies in its first week. Sales have been strong ever since.

To celebrate the 10 million milestone on Xbox 360, Microsoft is slashing prices on the game's DLC. You can get the following content for 50% of its usual price on December 14th:

Skin Pack 1

Skin Pack 2

Skin Pack 3

Skin Pack 4

Skin Pack 5

Battle & Beasts Skin Pack

Festive Skin Pack

Plastic Texture Pack

Battle & Beasts 2 Skin Pack

Natural Texture Pack

Fantasy Texture Pack

Minecraft has been one of the biggest surprises of this generation. This small indie game, with no overt player goals and no flashy graphics, became a pop culture phenomenon over the past few years. Thousands of Minecraft fans now flock to annual conventions to hang out with like-minded fans, meet the development team, and participate in contests. There are literally millions of Minecraft videos in YouTube in which players show off what they built in the game or simply fuck around. Minecraft has also inspired a wave of new games that focus on open-world exploration and building such as Terraria and 7 Days To Die.

If you're curious about how Minecraft grew from such humble beginnings to become such a sensation, I'd suggest picking up Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game that Changed Everything. It's a fascinating and very accessible account of the game's development and rise to fame. I'm reading the book now and, even though I'm not a big Minecraft guy, I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

The player base for Minecraft should only continue to grow in the coming years as the game spreads to new platforms. This past summer Mojang announced that PS4, PS3, PS Vita and Xbox One versions are in development.